State & Local Law News, Summer 1996 Chair's Message By Richard Hill This is my last column as Chair of the Section. I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to serve as Chair, to work with the many wonderful people who are active in the Section, to learn about the Section and the ABA, and to contribute to the development of state and local law. The Section has led an active and exciting life over the past year. Our Council Meeting in October focused on the redevelopment of our strategic plan. Those efforts have blossomed into a final draft of a plan that we anticipate adopting in August at Orlando. In February, we met in Baltimore at the Midyear Meeting and, in the midst of a snowstorm, drew both a national and a local audience to an excellent program on Land Use Development Agreements. In April, our Spring Section Meeting was held in Cancun. We had a large turnout, great spirit, and were able to balance well business meetings, CLE programs, and the chance to enjoy the sun, the ocean, and each other's company. We look forward to an excellent ABA Annual Meeting in Orlando. Our Section, thanks to the generosity of Vice Chair Fred Leonhardt's law firm, will sponsor a reception at Planet Hollywood—you are each invited to attend!—and a full slate of CLE programs is planned, including Bob Freilich's vaunted annual comprehensive update of state and local law developments and a program on Disney's Celebration real estate development. The Section continues to pursue challenging problems confronting state and local lawyers, endeavoring to analyze, clarify, and resolve the issues. For example, in Cancun, Section Newsletter Editor Patty Salkin organized a program addressing problems of ethics in the practice of public law. Patty is planning a Section publication that will grow out of the program and serve as a resource and guide. The Public Finance Committee, under the supervision of Chair Bob Baker, has taken an active and prominent role in the national debate over "pay to play," the difficult issue of campaign contributions and public finance legal work. And the Land Use Committee, led by Chair Brad White, continues to probe the developing challenges of regulatory taking, development exactions, development agreements, and historic preservation. Tom Roberts, publications director, has guided a number of books into print over the course of the year, and more will be published shortly. The Section's books this year have addressed and will address, among other things, public finance and procurement, regulatory taking, land-use litigation, and freedom of speech for public employees. Incoming Chair Janice Griffith has identified next year's program them, "Reinventing Government," and upcoming Section programs and publications will treat that theme in depth. Our Section membership numbers, thanks to our Membership Committee's efforts, remain stable, and we anticipate healthy growth in the future. One of the important endeavors of the year was a Section membership survey, which was sent to a representative sample of Section members. We had an excellent response to the survey, and are now compiling preliminary results. The survey shows about 30 percent of our members are employed by state or local government (three-fourths of whom work for either counties or cities). Almost 60 percent of our members are in private practice (three-fourths of whom are either partners or shareholders of their firms) who specialize in state and local law legal issues. Areas of concentration include administrative law and governmental agency matters, land use, public finance, and commercial real estate development. Both the Section Newsletter and The Urban Lawyer are highly appreciated by our members. Most want to see substantive articles and practical, how-to articles with checklists. Key reasons for Section membership are topical interest and professional development. We will review closely the survey results, incorporate them into our final draft of the Strategic Plan, and base our planning decisions in large part on what you have asked us to do. We look forward to your continued involvement in the Section, in whatever form you can contribute, and also appreciate the opportunity to work with you to develop and improve the condition of state and local law. It has been a great year for the Section. I am pleased to be turning over the reins to Chair-Elect Janice Griffith, who I am sure will preside over an even more exciting year. I have named in this column only a select few of the many individuals who have volunteered their time and energy to contribute to Section activities. But I thank all of you. My special thanks go to the dedicated ABA staff who support us, guide us, and (usually) keep us out of trouble: Jackie Baker, Sharon Tindall, and Rick Bright. Many thanks, Jackie, Sharon, and Rick!